Auburn
University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public
university located
in Auburn, Alabama,United States. With
more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was
chartered on February
7, 1856, as theEast Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In
1872, the college became the state's first public land-grant
university under
the Morrill Act and was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Alabama. In 1892, the college became the
first four-year coeducationalschool
in the state. The curriculum at the university originally focused on arts and
agriculture. This trend changed under the guidance of Dr. William Leroy Broun,
who taught classics and sciences and believed both disciplines were important
in the overall growth of the university and the individual. The college was
renamed the Alabama
Polytechnic Institute (API)
in 1899, largely because of Dr. Broun’s influence.The college continued
expanding, and in 1960 its name was officially changed to Auburn University to
acknowledge the varied academic programs and larger curriculum of a major
university. In 1964, under Federal Court mandate AU admitted its first
African American Student. It had been popularly known as "Auburn"
for many years. Auburn is
among the few American universities designated as a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research center.
History
Auburn University was chartered by the
Alabama Legislature as the East Alabama Male College on February 7, 1856, coming under the guidance of the Methodist Church in 1859.The
first president of the institution was Reverend William J. Sasnett,
and the school opened its doors in 1859 to a student body of eighty and a
faculty of ten. The early history of Auburn is inextricably linked
with the Civil War and the Reconstruction-era
South. Classes were held in "Old Main" until the college was closed
due to the Civil War, when most of the students and faculty left to enlist. The
campus was used as a training ground for the ConfederateArmy,
and "Old Main" served as a hospital for Confederate wounded.To commemorate Auburn's contribution to the
Civil War, a cannon lathe used for the manufacture of cannons for the
Confederate Army and recovered from Selma, Alabama, was presented to Auburn in
1952 by brothers of Delta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Omegafraternity.It
sits today on the lawn next to Samford Hall.
Name change: Auburn
Recognizing the school had moved beyond its
agricultural and mechanical roots, it was granted university status by the
Alabama Legislature in 1960 and officially renamed Auburn University, a name that better
expressed the varied academic programs and expanded curriculum that the school
had been offering for years. However, it had been popularly called "Auburn" for many years
even before the official name change.Like most universities in the American South,
Auburn was racially segregated prior to 1963, with only white
students being admitted. Integration went smoothly at Auburn, with the first
African-American student, Harold A. Franklin, being admitted in 1964, and the
first doctoral degree being granted to an African-American in 1967.[citation needed]Today, Auburn has grown since its
founding to have an on-campus enrollment of over 25,000 students and a faculty
of almost 1,200 at the main campus in Auburn. There
are also more than 6,000 students at the Auburn
University at Montgomery satellite
campus established in 1967.
Academics
Auburn has traditionally been
rated highly by academic ranking services, and has been listed as one of the
top 50 public universities for 20 consecutive years. The 2011 edition of U.S. News and World Reports ranks Auburn as the 82nd university
in the nation among public and private schools and 37th among public
universities. Auburn was the only college or
university in Alabama included in the
inaugural edition (1981) of the widely respected Peterson's Guides to America's 296
Most Competitive Colleges.Auburn is a charter member of
the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which is currently composed of
13 of the largest Southern public universities in the US and one private
university, Vanderbilt. Among the other 12 peer public
universities, only the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, and the University of Alabama are ranked ahead of Auburn in the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report.This high ranking and reputation for
academic quality is in spite of the fact that Auburn's $378.6 million
endowment is currently the second smallest of the 13 SEC universities. An attempt to increase the endowment
by $500 million began in 2005 with the "It Begins at Auburn" campaign. As of
August 2006, the campaign had raised $523 million, making it the largest
campaign in university history.The university currently consists of thirteen
schools and colleges. Programs in architecture, pharmacy, veterinary science,
engineering, forestry, and business have been ranked among the best in the
country.The journal DesignIntelligence in its 2013 edition of "America's
Best Architecture and Design Schools" ranked Auburn's undergraduate
Architecture program No. 9 and Industrial Design program No. 6 nationally. In
addition, Auburn's graduate Landscape
Architecture program was ranked No. 13 nationally and Industrial Design program
4th.The undergraduate Interior Design program in the
College of Human Sciences is ranked No. 1
nationally by DesignIntelligence magazine. For its annual survey, “America’s Best Architecture
& Design Schools,” the publication asked 277 leading architecture and
design firms which schools best prepare students for success in the profession.
Based on Interior Design programs accredited by the Council for Interior Design
Accreditation (CIDA), Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the
nation, along with Savannah College of Art and Design.The Department of Foundations, Leadership and
Technology of the College of Education was ranked 7th in the
nation by Academic Analytics in 2008.Auburn University's College of Architecture pioneered the joining
of architecture and interior design curriculum with the nation's first interior
architecture degree program. The Dual Degree Architecture & Interior
Architecture degree was the first in the nation as well. Auburn University's College
of Architecture, Design, and Construction also pioneered the nations first
Design Build Master's Degree program, hence capitalizing on The College of
Architecture, Design and Construction's "Building Science" program
with Auburn's "Rural Studio" program where Architectural students
build highly creative and ingenious homes for some of the poorest regions of
Alabama. These homes and efforts have been publicized by People Magazine, Time,
featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, numerous Architectural and Construction
periodicals as well. Of critical mention here is the School's Rural Studio program, founded by the late Samuel Mockbee.The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
has a 134-year tradition of engineering education, consistently ranking in the
nation's top 20 engineering programs in terms of numbers of engineers
graduating annually. The college has a combined enrollment of close to 4,000.
Auburn's College of Engineering offers majors in civil, mechanical, electrical,
industrial and systems engineering, polymer and fiber engineering, aerospace,
agricultural, bio-systems, materials, chemical engineering, computer science,
and software engineering, and—more recently—began a program in wireless engineering after receiving a donation from alumnusSamuel L. Ginn. In 2001, Ginn, a noted US
pioneer in wireless communication, made a $25 million gift to the college and
announced plans to spearhead an additional $150 million in support. This gave Auburn
the first Bachelor of Wireless Engineering degree program in the United
States. Auburn
University was the first university
in the Southeast to offer the bachelor of software engineering degree and the
master of software engineering degree.Auburn has historically placed
much of its emphasis on the education of engineers at the undergraduate level,
and in recent years has been ranked as high as the 10th largest undergraduate
engineering program in the US in terms of the number
of undergraduate degrees awarded on annual basis. The Ginn College of
Engineering is now focused on growing the graduate programs, and recent
rankings demonstrate the increasing profile of graduate engineering education
at Auburn. The Ginn College of Engineering was recently
ranked 60th nationally overall and 35th among public universities that offer
doctoral programs in engineering by U.S.
News and World Report. Last year, the College ranked 67th among all
engineering programs and 40th among such programs at public universities.
"America's Best Graduate Schools
2006" ranks the Ginn College of Engineering's graduate program in the Top
100 graduate engineering programs in the US. Auburn's Industrial and
Systems Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Mechanical
Engineering were all ranked in the top 100.Auburn also boasts strong
programs in veterinary medicine, mathematics, science, agriculture, and
journalism.Auburn's Economics Department
(formerly in the College of Business, now in the College of Liberal Arts) was ranked 123rd in
the world in 1999 by the Journal
of Applied Econometrics. Auburn was rated ahead of such
international powerhouses as INSEAD in France (141st) and the London Business School (146th). Auburn's MBA Program in the College of Business has annually been
ranked by U.S. News and World Report
magazine in the top ten percent
of the nation's more than 750 MBA Programs. The Ludwig von Mises Institute offices were
once located in the business department of Auburn University, and the LvMI continues
to work with the university on many levels.Nationally recognized ROTC programs
are available in three branches of service: Air Force, Army, and Navy/Marine
Corps, the latter being the only one of its kind in Alabama.
Each of these three ROTC units is ranked among the top ten in the nation. Over
100 officers that attended Auburn have reached flag rank (general or admiral),
including one, Carl Epting Mundy Jr.,
who served as Commandant
of the US Marine Corps. Auburn
is one of only seven universities in the Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning
Program, and has historically been one of the top ROTC producers of Navy
nuclear submarine officers.addition to the many outstanding ROTC
graduates commissioned through Auburn, two masters degree alumni from Auburn,
four-star generals Hugh Shelton and Richard Myers,
served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the last decade. Both officers
received their commissions elsewhere, and attended Auburn for an M.S. (Shelton) and M.B.A. (Myers).Auburn has graduated six
astronauts (including T.K. Mattingly of Apollo 13 fame) and one current and one former
director of the Kennedy Space Center. 1972 Auburn Mechanical
Engineering graduate Jim Kennedy, currently director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, was previously deputy
director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Several hundred Auburn graduates, primarily
engineers and scientists, currently work directly for NASA or NASA contractors.
Hundreds of Auburn engineers worked for NASA at MSFC during the
peak years of the "space race" in the 1960s, when the Saturn and
Apollo moon programs were in full development.Auburn University owns and operates the
423-acre (1.71 km2) Auburn University Regional Airport,
providing flight education and fuel, maintenance, and airplane storage. The
Auburn University Aviation Department is fully certified by the FAA as an Air
Agency with examining authority for private, commercial, instrument, and
multiengine courses. The College of Business's Department of
Aviation Management and Supply Chain Management is the only program in the
country to hold dual accreditation by both the Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Aviation Accreditation Board
International (AABI). Created over 65 years ago, Auburn's flight program is
also the second oldest university flight program in the United States.Auburn University has been recognized as
having some of the best agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and poultry science
programs in the US. The Old Rotation on campus is the oldest continuous
agricultural experiment in the Southeast, and third oldest in the United States, dating from 1896. In
addition, the work of Dr. David Bransby on the use of switchgrass as a biofuel was the source of its mention in the 2006 State of the Union Address.The university recently began a Master of Real Estate Development program. This is one of the few in the
Southeast, with primary competition with the University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of South Florida, and Clemson University. The program has filled a
void of professional real estate education in Alabama.University’s Physicians Executive
M.B.A. (PEMBA) program in the College of Business ninth in the nation
among all degree programs for physician executives, according to the Journal’s
May 2006 issue. Among M.B.A. programs tailored specifically for physicians,
AU’s program is ranked second.
Campus
arrangemen
The Auburn campus is primarily
arranged in a grid-like pattern with several distinct building groups. The
northern section of the central campus (bounded by Magnolia Ave. and Thach Ave.) contains most of the College of Engineering buildings, the Lowder
business building, and the older administration buildings. The middle section
of the central campus (bounded by Thach Ave. and Roosevelt Dr.) contains the College of Liberal Arts (except fine arts) and
the College of Education, mostly within Haley Center. The southern section
of the central campus (bounded by Roosevelt Dr. and Samford Ave.) contains the most of
the buildings related to the College of Science and Mathematics, as
well as fine arts buildings.Several erratic building spurts,
beginning in the 1950s, have resulted in some exceptions to the subject
clusters as described above. Growing interaction issues between pedestrians and
vehicles led to the closure of a significant portion of Thach
Avenue to vehicular traffic in 2004. A similarly
sized portion of Roosevelt Drive
was also closed to vehicles in 2005. In an effort to make a more appealing
walkway, these two sections have been converted from asphalt to concrete. The
general movement towards a pedestrian only campus is ongoing, but is often
limited by the requirements for emergency and maintenance vehicular access.The current period of ongoing construction began
around the year 2000. All recently constructed buildings have used a more
traditional architectural style that is similar to the style of Samford Hall,
Mary Martin Hall, and the Quad dorms. The Science Center complex was completed
in 2005. This complex contains chemistry labs, traditional classrooms, and a
large lecture hall. A new medical clinic opened behind the Hill dorm area.
Taking the place of the old medical clinic and a few other older buildings, is
the Shelby Center for Engineering
Technology. Phase I of the Shelby Center opened in the Spring of
2008, with regular classes being held starting with the Summer 2008 term. A new
Student Center opened in 2008.
Football
Auburn named Gus Malzahn as
the new football head coach on December 4, 2012. Other past coaches
include Gene Chizik, George
Petrie, John Heisman, Mike Donahue, Jack Meagher, Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Pat Dye, Terry Bowden and Tommy Tuberville.Auburn played its first game
in 1892 against the University of
Georgia at Piedmont Park inAtlanta starting
what is currently the oldest college football rivalry in the Deep South. Auburn's first perfect season
came in 1913,
when the Tigers went 8-0, claiming a second SIAA conference championship and
the first national championship in school history. The Tigers' first bowl
appearance was in 1937 in the sixth Bacardi Bowl played
in Havana, Cuba.
AU football has won seven SEC Conference Championships, and since the division
of the conference in 1992, seven western division championships and four trips
to the SEC Championship game. Auburn plays arch-rival Alabama each year in a game known as the Iron Bowl.In 1957,
Auburn was coached by "Shug" Jordan to a 10–0 record and
was awarded the AP National Championship. Ohio State University was first in the UPI
coaches' poll. Auburn was ineligible for a
bowl game, however, having been placed on probation by the Southeastern Conference.Three Auburn players, Pat
Sullivan in 1971, Bo Jackson in
1985, and Cam Newton in
2010 have won the Heisman Trophy. The Trophy's namesake, John Heisman, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school
where Heisman coached (among others,Georgia
Tech and Clemson)
that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner. Auburn's Jordan–Hare Stadium has a capacity of 87,451 ranking as
the ninth-largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA as of September 2006.Auburn went 11–0 under Terry
Bowden in 1993, but was on probation and not allowed to play in the SEC
Championship game. Auburn completed the 2004
football season with a 13–0 record winning the SEC championship, the school's first conference
title since 1989 and the first outright title since 1987. The 2004 team was led
by quarterback Jason Campbell, running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, and cornerback Carlos
Rogers, all subsequently drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. The team's new offensive
coordinator, Al Borges, led the team to use the west coast style offense which maximized the use of both star
running backs. However, the Tigers were ranked behind two other undefeated
teams, Southern
California and Oklahoma,
that played in the BCS championship game.Prior to the 2008 season, Tony Franklin was hired
as offensive coordinator to put Auburn into the spread
offense. He was fired, however, following the sixth game of the season that
ended in a loss to Vanderbilt. Tommy Tuberville then resigned as head coach
after the season. On December 13, 2008, it was reported that Gene Chizik had
been hired as Auburn's new head coach. Coach
Gene Chizik then hired Gus Malzahn as
the Tigers' new Offensive Coordinator.In 2010,
Auburn defeated Oregon 22–19 in the 2011
BCS National Championship Game to
secure the school's second national championship. The Tigers finished the
season with a 14–0 record, including comeback wins over Clemson, South
Carolina, Georgia,
andAlabama.
The Tigers trailed the Tide 24–0 in Tuscaloosa, but managed a 28–27
comeback victory in the 75th edition of the Iron Bowl. Auburn would again defeat South Carolina 56–17 in the 2010 SEC
Championship Game, claiming the school's eleventh conference
championship. The Tigers were led by head coach Gene Chizik, offensive
coordinator Gus Malzahn, quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, and defensive tackle and Lombardi
Award winner Nick Fairley.In addition to the 1913, 1957, and 2010
championships, Auburn's 1914, 1958, 1983,
1993, and 2004 teams have also been recognized as national champions by various
ranking organizations.
